The invention relates to a rope having an eye, the rope comprising a first rope portion and a second rope portion that are spliced into each other for forming a spliced connection for obtaining the eye. The invention also relates to a method of forming an eye in a rope. The invention further relates to use of a rope.
Such ropes having an eye are used in many industrial fields. By for example arranging the eye around a pillar or a hook or bollard that is attached to an object, a towing force can be exerted on the object. Ropes with an eye are frequently used in maritime applications, such as for towing or anchoring of ships or of floating platforms. In such applications the eye is important, as without the eye the rope can hardly be used for towing or anchoring. Obtaining the eye is a classic art wherein the second rope portion is formed from an end of the rope and the first rope portion is located at a distance from the end of the rope, measured along the rope. The second rope portion is then spliced in the first rope portion for forming the spliced connection. The distance between the first and second rope portion then approximately equals the circumference of the eye.
In practice however, it turns out that after having obtained the eye, the spliced connection forms a rather vulnerable part of the rope. As a result of for example grinding of the rope, e.g. against the ship or the floating platform, the spliced connection can wear out rapidly and may damage. Ultimately this may lead to failure of the connection, which can give rise to dangerous situations. This risk has existed already for a long time and attempts have been made to solve it, however without much success. For example, protective materials have been applied around the spliced connection. However, these protective materials themselves can wear out rapidly as well so that the problem of wear of the connection arises again. In addition, applying such protective materials increases cost and weight of the rope and also decreases handling flexibility of the rope.